Alavus

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Alavus Alavo
Town
Alavuden kaupunki Alavo stad
Former Alavus city hall, demolished in 2021
Coat of arms
Location of Alavus in Finland
Coordinates: 62°35.5′N 023°37′E / 62.5917°N 23.617°E / 62.5917; 23.617
Country	Finland
Region	Southern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Kuusiokunnat sub-region
Charter	1865
Market town	1974
Town privileges	1977
Government
• Town manager	Liisa Heinämäki
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,151.46 km2 (444.58 sq mi)
• Land	1,087.23 km2 (419.78 sq mi)
• Water	52.31 km2 (20.20 sq mi)
• Rank	71st largest in Finland
Population  (2024-08-31)[2]
• Total	10,851
• Rank	90th largest in Finland
• Density	9.98/km2 (25.8/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	97.4% (official)
• Swedish	0.1%
• Others	2.5%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	16.7%
• 15 to 64	54.6%
• 65 or older	28.7%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.alavus.fi

Alavus (Swedish: Alavo) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region, 52 kilometres (32 mi) southeast of Seinäjoki, 138 kilometres (86 mi) north of Tampere and 319 kilometres (198 mi) north of Helsinki. The town has a population of 10,851 (31 August 2024)^[2] and covers an area of 1,151.46 square kilometres (444.58 sq mi) of which 52.31 km² (20.20 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 9.98 inhabitants per square kilometre (25.8/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Alajärvi, Kuortane, Seinäjoki, Virrat and Ähtäri.

Agriculture and forestry employ a significant share of the population. Most of the industry in Alavus is related to construction: materials, design and contractors. Alavus has 60 lakes with 324 kilometres (201 mi) of shoreline. The town is unilingually Finnish.